Archive for March, 2011

Britney Spears "How I Roll"

A lot of Britney Spears' seventh album Femme Fatale sounds like a bunch of talented writers and producers going wild and pushing the limits of what can fly on a mainstream pop album, with Spears mainly acting as muse, mouthpiece and benefactor all at once. Her presence isn't required, but she can't be ignored. The best songs take the idea of Britney Spears -- or maybe just the representation of her sexuality? -- and digitally manipulate it into some kind of abstraction. "How I Roll," a track by "Toxic" producers Bloodshy & Avant, is especially strange merger of bubblegum pop and electronic tinkering. It's mad science pop, bursting with energy and unconventional ideas about sound and structure tossed at the audience in a playful but also sort of confrontational manner. Spears isn't always totally recognizable throughout Femme Fatale, but on this track she sounds exactly like herself, particularly the youthful teen version that everyone remembers and laments in one way or another. Even still, she takes a backseat to the production and the hooks. She's there to be "Britney Spears," the zombie celebrity. She's there to be the eccentric rich person who bankrolls this sort of experiment and puts it out into the world. Buy it from Amazon.

Cam'ron & Vado "Girls Cry"

Cam'ron always raps with a playful cadence; it's part of what makes him so easy to like even when he's being a dick. It's a slick charm -- something about his voice tells you that he's just playing with you and it always rings true. He's funny too, particularly when he's being crass. This track has a classy, sparkling sound to it, but he's goofy and lewd, talking about a girlfriend so possessive that she insists on sniffing his balls when he gets in the house. She's uptight and obsessive, but he plays it cool and laid back. He leans into the track like it's a particularly comfortable chair. Vado is another story. When he comes in, he's angry and defensive. He's an interesting foil for Cam -- harder but less assured. Vado emphasizes Cam's effortless vibe, which in turn highlights the raw emotion in Vado's performance. Pre-order it from Amazon.

Nicolas Jaar "Space is Only Noise If You Can See"

Sometimes when I am alone I sing to myself. I find a snippet of melody that I like and follow it where it takes me -- sometimes it's just a loop, other times it keeps rambling and changing to the point that I can't recall where I started. I make up the words as I go along and sometimes get surprised by what comes out from my unconscious mind. I do this when walking around, just quiet enough that no one can hear, though sometimes they do and I don't care. For the first minute of this composition, Nicolas Jaar sounds like he's doing that, quietly singing to himself phrases that spill out of his head, following the melody in circles. But then it shifts. There's an amazing keyboard bass line that comes in, the kind of sound and melody that would feel natural on a James Murphy track. Then it keeps going -- the vocals multiply and tangle as the arrangement gets deeper and richer, and somehow it never stops sounding lonesome and spacious. There are phrases that stick out, that don't quite make sense but have a powerful resonance. I think I get what this guy is thinking and how he felt when he made it. It feels familiar to me, anyway. Buy it from Amazon.

James Pants "Every Night I Dream"

This dream isn't quite a nightmare, but it's the kind of thing you wake up from thinking "wuh?" and images and feelings from it resurface in your head later in the day and it feels like an actual uncomfortable memory. But not necessarily bad -- just something that reveals something in your mind you don't want to think about or take responsibility for thinking/feeling. I love the way the smooth guitar part in this song signifies elegant sexiness while the keyboard attack has this quality that evokes both strobe lights and nervous agitation. Conflicting vibes, but they somehow complement each other perfectly. Pre-order it from Amazon.

The Weeknd "The Party & The After Party"

The Weeknd get a lot out of a Beach House sample, extending and bending it around the vocals and the lyrics until it every twist and shift is as vivid and resonant as a well-shot movie. I feel like I can "see" everything in this song very clearly; it's like when you read a novel with a perfect vision of everything. If you were tell me your impression of anything mentioned in the words, I would want to argue with you and tell you that you got it wrong if we didn't see it the same way. Totally ridiculous and subjective, but emotional truth is what it is. Download it for free from The Weeknd.

Sloan "Unkind"

There are other songs on Sloan's new album The Double Cross that grabbed my attention more quickly, and I'll get to them later on. Weirdly, those songs were more subtle and understated -- the lovely ballad "Laying So Low," the retro-pop "Shadow of Love," the stately "Beverley Terrace." "Unkind," a Patrick Pentland number, is one of his riffy stompy tunes and it just sorta pushed its way into my brain and has barely left for weeks. The only song that can knock it out of my mind lately is "Friday" by Rebecca Black. Obviously, "Friday" can be a little irritating, but "Unkind" is a joy. I love how assertive it sounds -- not angry or pushy, just very clear-headed and forthright. Pentland is dealing with some relationship anxiety and frustration in the lyrics, but even when he's being mean and dismissive, he doesn't come across like a jerk. The words do not suggest any kind of resolution, but the music sounds celebratory, like someone realizing that they have the freedom and agency to walk away from someone who is bringing them down. Pre-order it from Yep Roc.

TV on the Radio "Caffeinated Consciousness"

There's a Peter Gabriel thing going on here, right? Like someone trying to turn "Sledgehammer" into punk rock. It works for TV on the Radio, mainly because Tunde Adebimpe's voice has this bouncy, colorful quality that suits the cartoonish exaggeration in the music. "Caffeinated Consciousness" is one of those sneaky songs in which the verses are bolder and catchier than the chorus, which recedes into a smoother, funkier, calmer zone. The "caffeinated" bits are what get you, it's like being zapped with animated lightning. It's not surprising that the lyrics are so positive and focused on constructive behavior -- this feels so much like the manic buzz of inspiration that comes once in a while, and you basically have to go with it or suffer for ignoring the call to action. Buy it from Amazon.

Janet Jackson @ Radio City Music Hall 3/19/2011 The Pleasure Principle / Control / What Have You Done For Me Lately? / Feedback / You Want This - Alright / Miss You Much / Nasty / Nothing / Come Back to Me / Let's Wait A While / Again / Doesn't Really Matter / Escapade / Love Will Never Do (Without You) / When I Think of You / All For You / That's the Way Love Goes / I Get Lonely / If / Scream / Rhythm Nation // Diamonds - The Best Things in Life Are Free - Make Me / Together Again For a major icon of pop music, Janet Jackson is not a tremendously charismatic performer. She's incredibly likeable and extremely talented, but she just doesn't have that weird power over people where just being in her presence is astonishing. I might not have really noticed this if two of the most recent shows I have seen weren't Prince and Lady Gaga, both of whom definitely have that freakish charisma. You can't take your eyes off them; they radiate something indescribable. I'm sure Michael Jackson was the same way. This isn't necessarily a criticism of Janet. Not many people have that kind of power, and a huge number of immensely talented people get by without it. She knows how to compensate for it, that's for sure. Dancers and choreography can often be this sort of default mode for live pop music, but for Janet, it's an integral part of her expression. The choreography is careful and detailed. The dancing -- both in terms of individual dancers and the overall group -- is intuitive but surprising, and focuses your attention on movement without making you think so much about it.

Janet Jackson "When I Think of You"

As a singer, Jackson is very underrated. There's nothing ostentatious about her vocals -- there's no melisma, no belting. She sings to suit melody and she never upstages her rhythm. The songs are often deceptive in their apparent simplicity, often escalating toward demanding high notes. She's very good at conveying sweetness, and later in her career, subverting that sweetness with a pervy sexuality. I'm a very big fan of her more innocent dance pop songs, like "When I Think of You," "Love Will Never Do," "Miss You Much" and "Escapade." Those are brilliantly composed pop singles, but Janet brings a thrilling lovestruck exuberance that pushes them toward something more potent and profound. Buy it from Amazon.

Keren Ann "My Name Is Trouble"

Keren Ann has always an artist that I respect but never held my interest enough for me to actively pay attention to her albums. She has had a tendency to write far too many songs with the same monochromatic palette and languid pace. Decent mood music, but not engaging pop music. I suppose she felt the same way -- 101, her first album in four years, is by far the most dynamic record of her career. "My Name Is Trouble" is the most impressive cut, a keyboard-centric arrangement with a simple driving beat that frames a lovely vocal melody. Her voice and the melodic style remind me a lot of St. Vincent, right on down to the way Annie Clark often masks very dark lyrical themes in a placid, pretty tone. Though Keren Ann lacks the sonic contrast and emotive power of Clark's guitar, her song goes a different way, complementing her voice with brittle, glassy synthesizer tones and fluid, expressive bass runs. Buy it from Amazon.

Adventure "Smoke and Mirrors"

Adventure's Benny Boeldt is signed to Carpark Records and he's a member of Dan Deacon's crew, but he's not the artsy indie weirdo you might expect from that pedigree. He's actually a tidy synthpop formalist, a tuneful balladeer who sounds as if he's spent years obsessing over Human League, Soft Cell, Erasure, OMD, Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys. "Smoke and Mirrors" is his finest composition -- it's the catchiest, probably, but it nails the most charming thing about proper 80s synthpop: An ideal ratio of melancholy melody sung in a handsome voice and perkiness delivered by sparkling keyboards and snappy beats. Buy it from Amazon.